Do Japan’s Feed-In Tariffs for Solar Mean Profits for a Few, Price Hikes for Many?

I was overjoyed to hear that the Japanese legislature has passed a very aggressive plan to rapidly move Japan towards a renewable energy future. In the first year, it is likely to result in the installation of 3-5 GW of photovoltaics, enough to replace 3 nuclear reactors. And growth of the market for PV in Japan will likely undergo exponential growth for years to come.

This growth will come at the expense of 42 yen per KWh. This is the cost that utilities such as ToDen (TEPCO) and KanDen will be forced to pay solar energy producers. Lower feed-in rates are offered for other forms of renewable energy, such as geothermal, wind, hydro, etc. Of course, the utilities are not going to eat the cost of this greener electricity – they will pass it on to the consumer. 42 yen per KWh is about 3 times the going rate for electricity, and well above the actual cost of production.

Many people have the mistaken idea that solar energy is expensive. It isn’t the cheapest form of energy out there (hydro and wind are cheaper), but solar energy is now cheaper than nuclear energy. Costs for solar will continue to fall dramatically into the foreseeable future, while costs for non-renewable energy will continue to rise. Five years from now any debate will be decisively settled in favor of renewables purely on the basis of cost efficiency. But the Japanese ratepayers are now locked in to higher prices in exchange for greener energy.

Solar power is inherently one of the most democratic forms of energy production. Compared to wind or hydro, solar energy can be sited almost anywhere. Solar is also easily scalable, so it can be installed on a few meters of roof space or across many hectares of land. I have nothing against solar companies profiting from the shift towards renewable energy. However, as things stand, all we have is a slightly cleaner, greener version of business as usual in Japan. Those who have money to invest will profit, and those who do not will pay the bill.

Now I’m thinking, it’s actually a most regressive scheme that further traps people into the top-down system. When they say that utilities have to buy alternative electricity, what that actually means is that alternative electricity is obliged to communicate with the grid, and every one has to pay extra for it. It’s essentially a neo head tax. On top of that, the money is not even paid to the government, but to private interests that are using the government to suck the last of the money from everyone.

A True Renewable Energy Revolution for Japan: Power by the People, for the People

I envision a true renewable energy revolution for Japan. One in which clean, safe and inexpensive power is produced by the people for the people. I envision a renewable energy revolution that will show the world that we can power ALL of the world’s energy needs with renewable energy – and that we can do it less expensively than with fossil fuels or nuclear reactors.

Over the last decade, Germany has initiated leadership of the renewable energy revolution and has shown that the technology is ready. Japan has modeled it’s tariffs after this very successful plan, which is a good start.

Yet there is a unique confluence of events that makes Japan the perfect place for the next step in the renewable energy revolution. The tragedy of the Fukushima nuclear accident has galvanized resistance to nuclear power and the energy monopolies that created this mess. 70% of the population opposes restarting the reactors, yet the Japanese government continues forward, leading to a great many questioning whether Japan’s democracy is functioning.

It is time for the Japanese people to take matters into their own hands and do what they do best: cooperative organization.

What I propose is a not-for profit cooperative that will facilitate shifting Japan to 100% renewable energy in two decades or less. We will use volunteer energy, neighborhood and community organizations, the internet, social networks, crowd sourcing and to do it faster, cheaper and more creatively than for-profit corporations could ever dream of doing. We will draw on the united will of the Japanese people to create a world with clean affordable energy – and we will be a model of inspiration for the rest of the world to follow suit.

Over the next few weeks I’ll be posting more about how exactly this can be done – and it can be done. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think so far!

Prime Minister Noda has decided, against the will of the Japanese people, against the will of residents of Fukui Prefecture, and against the will of the world to restart the nuclear reactors at the Oi nuclear waste generating station, placing Japan and the rest of the world under threat of a repeat of the Fukishima disaster. Safety measures are inadequate, and Japan has only met 15 of 30 of the IAEA’s safety requirements.

Media reports of large protests in Japan are being suppressed. Protests are being coordinated at Japanese embassies worldwide, to let the Japanese Prime Minister know that the world is opposed to their action. Whether you can make it to a protest or not, you can definitely call your local Japanese embassy and express your opposition to nuclear power. List thanks to facebook group Fukushima Watchdogs:

Japanese Embassies list worldwide

Here are all the Japanese embassies in the world that we will contact either directly or contact them via email. We expect to march down some of the embassies to scream our miscontent and demand that these murders be stopped at once !

Finally scientists have confirmed what we saw coming from 6,000 miles away: pacific bluefin tuna are now contaminated with significant amounts of radioactive cesium and who-knows-what other isotopes.

Testing of bluefin tuna caught off the coast of California revealed that every one tested contained radiocesium in concentrations as much as 10bq/kq. To put that number in perspective, 100bq/kg would be considered low-level radioactive waste under U.S. environmental law and require special disposal. So, it’s only 10% as bad as officially radioactive waste. Yum!

The numbers are truly shocking. Some of the higher ones would qualify as high-level radioactive waste.

These tuna almost certainly were born off the coast of Japan and recently migrated to the U.S. west coast. The really bad news is that scientists expect the levels to get worse over the next year as tuna that have spent longer in Japanese waters continue to migrate across the pacific.

The glowing sushi jokes that have been circulating for over a year weren’t funny when they started and still aren’t – not because they are inappropriate (they are inappropriate), I just haven’t heard a good one yet. Maybe the radiation has rotted our sense of humor…

At this point, unfortunately it isn’t just the jokes that stink.

It appears that 200 metric tons of sardines have washed up on the shore in Chiba Prefecture, and the odor can be smelled quite a distance from the port. Strange fish kills have been on the rise for years due to the havoc humans have been wreaking on the environment, but the proximity to the largest industrial accident in the history of the world is definitely suggestive of a cause.

Here is a picture of the port, that’s not sand, those are dead fish and that is blood in the water:

Less than a week after that, Mochizuki at Fukushima Diary reports about a similar occurrence – quite a ways away from Chiba in Kanagwa prefecture, along with this photo:

While Fukushima has certainly brought the issue of radioactive fish to the forefront, such contaminated fish have been a fact of life for some time.In August, 2011 Reuters reported that Strontium 90 was found in fish caught in the Connecticut River downstream from the aging Vermont Yankee nuclear waste generating station.

Radioactivity continues to be a significant problem in the Baltic Sea nearly 30 years after the Chernobyl accident. In addition to the Chernobyl legacy, a number of nuclear plants continue to release radioactivity into the Baltic.

The Irish Sea has it’s own problem with radioactivity. The Sellafield site has two retired reactors but still functions as a used fuel reprocessing plant and nuclear waste storage site. Sellafield has been continuously leaking radiation into the Irish Sea since 1952. The following chart, from NoNuclear.SE shows Cesium in fish almost twice as radioactive as the Bluefin Tuna caught off the coast of San Diego:

News media both in Japan and worldwide have parroted the line that the ocean will dilute the radionuclides to insignificant numbers. But history clearly shows that radionuclides persist in the marine environment and accumulate in food chains to a significant degree for a very, very long time. Dilution isn’t a very assuring idea, when there are 439 nuclear reactors around the world, all of them releasing radioactivity in the environment!

What You Can Do:

This blog is loaded with info on how to protect yourself from radiation. If you haven’t already, I highly suggest reading my posts on Probiotics,Vitamin C, Vitamin D, and Pectin, and check out the archives as well.

In addition, I encourage you to limit your intake of seafood, especially from the Pacific. Avoid larger predatory fish, such as tuna or shark that tend to bioaccumulate toxic elements. This list describes which fish to avoid in order to decrease mercury exposure, and similar principles should apply with radionuclides.

I also encourage you to practice anti-nuclear activism and make personal choices that decrease our dependency on nuclear power.

Vitamin D has some very specific benefits when it comes to radioprotection. Vitamin D is an anti-oxidant, and anti-oxidants should be considered front-line defense against damage due to radiation.

Dr. Mercola writes:

The protective mechanisms are so strong that researchers suggested vitamin D3 should be considered among the prime (if not the primary) non-pharmacological agents to protect against sub-lethal low radiation damage and, particularly, radiation-induced cancer.

It’s unclear how much vitamin D is necessary to protect against radiation-induced cancer, but researchers have found that daily intakes of vitamin D by adults in the range of 4,000-8,000 IU are needed to maintain blood levels of vitamin D metabolites in the range needed to reduce the risk of breast and colon cancers by about half.

Secondly, Vitamin D is an outstanding cancer fighting medicine. Here are some eye-opening facts about Vitamin D and Cancer from the Vitamin D council:

Mechanisms have been proposed to explain how vitamin D acts to reduce the risk of cancer from starting, growing, and spreading.

Those who develop nonmelanoma skin cancer may have produced enough vitamin D to reduce their risk of internal cancers.

Those with higher vitamin D blood levels at time of cancer diagnosis had nearly twice the survival rate of those with the lowest levels.

African-Americans have an increased risk of cancer in part due to lower vitamin D blood levels because of darker skin.

Higher UVB exposure early in life has been found associated with reduced risk of breast and prostate cancer.

Those diagnosed with breast, colon and prostate cancer in summer in Norway had higher survival rates than those diagnosed in winter.

How does Vitamin D fight cancer so effectively? Here are some of the mechanisms involved:

prevents angiogenesis, the process by which cancerous tumors ‘steal’ blood supply from other tissues by building their own networks of blood vessels

increases apoptosis, or programmed cell death, in cancerous tissues

switches off ‘oncogenes’ that are involved with the growth of tumors

switches on tumor suppressing genes

Vitamin D plays a role in many natural approaches to cancer treatment, including Dr. Burzynski’s antineoplaston therapy, due to it’s ability to flip genetic switches that turn on our bodies’ defenses against cancer.

It’s unclear how much vitamin D is necessary to protect against radiation-induced cancer, but researchers have found that daily intakes of vitamin D by adults in the range of 4,000-8,000 IU are needed to maintain blood levels of vitamin D metabolites in the range needed to reduce the risk of breast and colon cancers by about half.

Earlier studies have shown that optimizing your vitamin D levels could help you to prevent at least 16 different types of cancerincluding pancreatic, lung, ovarian, prostate, and skin cancers, so it’s not a stretch to add radiation-induced cancer to that list.

It has been my experience that many are still nervous about taking doses larger than 1,000 to 2,000 units per day. This is unfortunate as most adults without sun or safe tanning bed exposure will need 6,000-8,000 units of vitamin D per day to attain healthy vitamin D levels.

Three Points to Remember About Vitamin D

When using vitamin D therapeutically, it’s important to remember the following:

Your best source for vitamin D is exposure to the sun, without sunblock on your skin, until your skin turns the lightest shade of pink. While this isn’t always possible due to the change of the seasons and your geographic location (and your skin color), this is the ideal to aim for. Vitamin D supplementation or use of a safe tanning bed can fill the gaps during the winter months outside of the tropics, when healthy sun exposure is not an option.

If you supplement with vitamin D, you’ll only want to supplement with natural vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol). Do NOT use the synthetic and highly inferior vitamin D2, which is the one most doctors will give you in a prescription unless you ask specifically for D3.

Get your vitamin D blood levels checked! The only way to determine the correct dose is to get your blood tested since there are so many variables that influence your vitamin D status. I recommend using Lab Corp in the United States. Getting the correct test is the first step in this process, as there are TWO vitamin D tests currently being offered: 1,25(OH)D and 25(OH)D.
The correct test your doctor needs to order is 25(OH)D, also called 25-hydroxyvitamin D, which is the better marker of overall D status. This is the marker that is most strongly associated with overall health.

Some people may be concerned about the risk of Vitamin D toxicity, but most of the studies showing such toxicity involve long-term doses of 40,000 or 50,000 iu. That is 500 to 1000% higher dosage than what Dr. Mercola recommends.

I prefer to synthesize vitamin by exposure to sunlight when possible. I live in Los Angeles where it is sunny all the time. I try to work in the garden a little bit every day, often shirtless. But during winter or when I am traveling (especially in Japan), I do sometimes supplement with Vitamin D at 5,000 iu per day. That’s me, do your own research and decide what is right for you.

Previously, I wrote about the affinity of certain mushrooms for cesium and their use for bioremediation. It seems fungi are not alone in their appetite for radionuclides. There is a class of bacteria that have been known for a long time to feed off of ionizing radiation. When exposed to x-rays, these bacteria are known to move towards the source of radiation, rather than away from it.

Now there are a number of researchers in Japan who are busy demonstrating that these photosynthetic bacteria can be an effective force for bioremediation of nuclear fallout. Here is a brief video from NHK world:

The researchers mixed 90 grams of photosynthetic bacteria with alginic acid and other chemicals, forming the resulting granular material into marble-sized spheres. These were injected into 50 liters of concentrated sludge, whose radiation levels were monitored for three days.

Radiation levels ranging from 12.04 to 14.54 microsieverts per hour at the start of the experiment were found to have dropped to between 2.6 and 4.1 microsieverts per hour by the end of the third day. Subtracting the 1.2 microsieverts of radiation that was detected in the area around the pool during the experiment due to the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant disaster, the bacteria was found to have reduced radiation levels in the sludge by a maximum of 89.4 percent.

The negative charge of the surface of the bacteria used in the experiment has the property of attracting positively-charged materials, which it did with the positively-charged cesium. Moreover, the bacteria feed on potassium, and Sasaki says the bacteria likely absorbed the cesium because of its resemblance to potassium.

Through dehydration and incineration, the volume of the used bacteria mixture can be reduced to a seventy-fifth of its original volume, and weight to a hundredth. Cesium turns into gas and is dispersed at 640 degrees Celsius, which can be avoided if temperatures are kept at 500 degrees or lower.

Sasaki, who is planning to run demonstration experiments, is hopeful that the technology can be applied to the decontamination of radiation-tainted soil. “The strength of this technology is that it makes decontamination possible at regular temperatures and pressures,” he said. “It is low cost as well, and we’d like to see it used in Fukushima’s reconstruction efforts.”

Even more interesting, but a bit more obscure is work being done that suggests bacteria may actually speed the decay of radioactive cesium by as much as 30 times the normal half life! Still looking for more documentation on this. Here’s what I have so far:

According to V. Vysotskii and A.Kornilova, the radioactive 137Cs (half-life 30 years) can be destroyed by bacteria. In an experiment described at (1) they introduced 260,900 Bk of 137Cs into a solution containing several chemical substances and bacteria. By natural decay the activity after 100 days would be reduced by 1670 Bk. But the actually measured reduction of radioactivity, after 100 days, turned out to be 51,100 Bk, plus or minus 1000. In other words, the reduction due to bacteria was 29 times larger than the reduction due to natural decay.

All activities were measured by placing small solution-containing flasks (2 by 2 by 2 cm) on top of the 1- cm-wide detector (2). Flasks were hermetically sealed, to make sure that cesium does not escape into the air, in the form of a volatile compound. Absence of accumulation of a solid cesium compound, gradually precipitating toward the bottom of the flask, was confirmed in a control experiment (during which 137Cs was decaying in the same chemical solution but without bacteria.) The decrease of radioactivity, during that experiment, was very close to the expected 1670 Bk.

One of the interesting takeaways from that PDF is that what was most effective were synergistic communities of micro-organisms, rather than monocultures of one strain of bacteria or yeast. This should not surprise us at all from what we know about the web of multitudinous life forms that make up soil or the complex ecologies of bacteria that inhabit our own guts. Nothing in nature works in isolation.

What we are talking about here is biological transmutation, which is based on theory outside of the mainstream of physics. One prominent promoter of this theory in Japan was reknowned macrobiotic teacher George Ohsawa. Considering the success macrobiotics has shown over the years in treating radiation illness, perhaps the theory should not be lightly dismissed.

Here is a little more about research being done on a particular bacterium by the US Department of Energy (who created the nuclear waste problem in the first place):

The contamination of groundwater with radionuclides and metals is one of the most challenging environmental problems at Department of Energy former nuclear weapons production sites. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts have previously found that Geobacter species can precipitate a wide range of radionuclides and metals (including uranium, technetium and chromium) from groundwater, preventing them from migrating to wells or rivers where they may pose a risk to humans and the environment.

The analysis of the genome sequence revealed a number of capacities that had not been previously suspected from past research on this microbe. “We’ve provided a comprehensive picture that has led to fundamental changes in how scientists evaluate this microbe,” said Barbara Methe, the TIGR researcher who led the genome project and is the first author of the Science paper. “Research based on genome data has shown that this microbe can sense and move towards metallic substances, and in some cases can survive in environments with oxygen.” G. sulfurreducenswas previously thought to be an anaerobic organism.

The other main project collaborator was Derek Lovley, a professor of microbiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who discovered the Geobacter family of bacteria and has led projects to assess their biology and their potential for bioremediation. Lovley said, “Sequencing the genome of Geobacter sulfurreducenshas radically changed our concepts of how this organism functions in subsurface environments.” The genome analysis, he said, “revealed previously unsuspected physiological properties” of the bacterium and also gave scientists insight into the metabolic mechanisms that the organism uses to harvest energy from the environment.

Geobacter reduces metal ions in a chemical process during which electrons are added to the ions. As a result, the metals become less soluble in water and precipitate into solids, which are more easily removed. Small charges of electricity are also created through the reduction process. Geobacter is also of interest to the Department of Energy because of its potential to create an electrical current in a “bio-battery.”

Geobacter microbes are widely distributed in nature and are commonly found in subsurface environments contaminated with radionuclides and metals. Researchers have demonstrated that if they “feed” the microbes simple carbon sources such as acetate they will grow faster and precipitate more radionuclides and metals. These findings are now serving as the basis for a test of a bioremediation strategy aimed at removing uranium from groundwater at a Uranium Mill Tailings Remedial Action site near Rifle, Colorado.

Geobacter sulfurreducens is not the only bacterium with the ability to induce profound changes in radioactive elements. There are a vast number of different types of bacteria that may be helpful in decontaminating land.

Ishii used to deliver food to Japanese restaurants in Maryland. For years he studied EM (effective microogranisms) as a hobby. Now he grows organic vegetables in Sukagawa, 60 km southwest of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. He believes the EM prevents his crops from absorbing radioactive cesium—they have tested “ND”: no detectible radiation.

Controlled experiments have been done using EM in Iitate Village, which was heavily affected by fallout from the Fukushima nuclear accident. The results are stunning.

1. The Results in Iidate Village

A summary report is presented here, while a detail report will be presented in October. A plot of 24a blueberry field was divided into a control section (with no EM application) and two experimental sections (with EM application). The experiment began in the 2nd week of May by making twice-a-week spraying of a mixture of 80 parts EMA (EM activated) and 20 parts phototrophic bacteria solution: 100L of the mixture per 10a in one experimental section and the same amount of the mixture with one time application of 250Kg rice bran per 10a in other experimental section.

The preliminary measurement showed that cecium-137 level reached 20,000Bq per 1Kg soil. In order to reduce the radiation down below 5,000Bq (considered allowable for farming by Japanese government), EM mixture was sprayed twice per week. Interim report presents the results after 19 sprays (in about two months). Soil sampling was made in accordance with the sampling standards for environmental data prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Science and sent to a highly reputable Isotope Research to determine the level of cesium-137.

(1-1) The Field Experiment in Iidate Village

The results were as follows. The level of 20,000Bq decreased by 40% in one month and by 75% by the end of the 2nd month to 5,000Bq which was allowable for planting rice. Farming is allowable now.

A half-life of cesium-137 is about 30 years. When left as is in the nature, the level in the experimental field will be 10,000Bq after 30 years. It will take 60 years to reach the level of 5,000Bq.

Other than rice farming, allowable level of radiation exposure has not been established for other crops and vegetable farming. The allowable level of cesium-137 for farm and marine produce is set below 500Bq. Needless to say; it is desirable when “not-detected”.

In addition, there is a group of farmers in Fukushima Prefecture a little further from ground zero who have had their produce tested for radiation. Again, the results are remarkable:

In the area of Date city of Fukushima prefecture, there are many farmers who have used EM well over 15 years. Mr. Makuta Takehiro has organized about 50 EM farmers under a supply chain management called “Agri-SCM”. The recent Tsunami and earthquake has forced approximately 10 farmers out of farming, leaving only 40 farmers in the group.

In order to prevent unfounded conjecture, Mr. Makuta took the harvested crops and vegetables of “Agri-SCM” farmers to Isotope Research for radiation measurement, all of which results showed “not-detected”. According to Mr. Makuta, some farm products from low contamination areas have shown high concentration above the allowable level when EM application has not been made. All EM applied farm products from Kohriyama and Fukushima cities have proved “not-detected” level of radiation, which seems to indicate that EM farming can solve radiation problems.

While EM products are excellent products, they are often criticized for being costly. The bacteria and yeasts in the EM formula are abundant naturally-occurring bacteria normally present in soil and natural bodies of water. Anyone can brew their own version with a little effort and a dash of adventurousness.

Iiyama Ichiro has been a professional in agricultural and bioremedial use of beneficial bacteria for many years in Japan, China and Korea. Iiyama is promoting the practice of homebrewing bacteria (fermenting) for internal use, for bathing, cleaning radiation around the home and for bioremediation of farmland.

Here is his website in Engrish, which is barely comprehensible due to translation software, and not very informative anyway. There are also Japanese and Chinese versions, not sure how informative they are. His far-ranging Japanese blog is here.

Here is a brief summary from a blogger whose Japanese wife is following Iiyama’s method of homebrewing.

There are ten 2-liter plastic bottles standing together under
the sun in our living room which my wife Minako is
cultivating–yogurt germs, which supposedly can fight against
radiation. It’s a very simple recipe: rice bran (multi-purpose:
once used for miso, as well as for detergent, via gamma-
globlin), brown sugar, sea salt, and mineral water.

Each bottle needs to be shaken several times a day and
the cap removed to allow the germs to breathe.
Eventually the water is carbonated because the germs breathe
out CO2. When the germs become sufficently cultivated, the
water turns caramel-colored and smells like fruity vinegar.
When it’s ready, you can dilute it and pour it around
contaminated areas such as sewer openings, leaf piles, or
poorly drained areas. Basically, the water can be scattered
everywhere.

Obviously, if bioremediation using bacteria is as effective as early results suggest, this is exhilirating news for Japan, Ukraine and the rest of the world. The ability to decontaminate the landscape quickly and inexpensively is a game-changer.

The implications for human health are also very important. In my post on probiotics, I touched on the radioprotective power of probiotic foods. The ability of bacteria to transform radionuclides into harmless elements may be one of the reasons why probiotic foods are so effective in supporting the health of those affected by radiation.

That’s all for now. Below is a list of links related to this topic. I hope to post more over the next few months.

CEREA, is a French environmental and atmospheric research center. The following two maps represent computer simulations of the deposition of cesium 137 from the Fukushima and Chernobyl accidents. The simulation from the Fukushima accident shows an area of high deposition in eastern Japan, and very little deposition in western Japan and Hokkaido. The United States and Canada appear to have a received a much less concentrated deposition than eastern Japan, however, especially Alaska and the Pacific northwest have been deemed to have received significant fallout, though much lower than that received by almost of Europe after the Chernobyl Accident.

The maps are quite informative, particularly when compared to each other. However it must be stressed that these are merely educated guesses rather than actually measurements of what has happened. Fluid dynamics are notoriously difficult to predict, pointing to the necessity for ongoing testing and research for levels of environmental contamination. Radioactive fallout does not happen evenly. It is highly dependent on precipitation, leading to areas that may be significantly more radioactive than others . Further, once fallout lands, it has a clear tendency to concentrate into hotspots. Low places, such as gullies or puddles are prime candidates.

For comparison’s sake, let’s put up a map of Chernobyl. This is somewhat reassuring, in that most of the US has received less contamination than Europe as a whole. CEREA considers the Chernobyl simulation to have more certainty than the Fukushima simulation, due to the data that has been gathered since the Chernobyl accident, however, it is still a simulation.

So, for Japan, the good news is that western Japan and Hokkaido seems relatively unscathed. Unfortunately, the Japanese government seems intent on shipping waste all over the country for incineration, which is not a bright idea.

For North America the bad news is that radioactive fallout from Fukushima appears to be widespread, though the levels are not terribly high. There is reason for concern, as we have added to our overall levels of exposure to ionizing radiation and environmental toxins in general. However, following the guidelines for a radioprotective and anti-cancer diet and lifestyle should far outweigh the risks associated with this level of contamination.

Pectin is undoubtedly one of the most amazing tools in the radioprotective arsenal – but first of all, what is it? Pectin is a soluble fiber found in fruits and vegetables. It is best known as a thickening agent for jellies and jams, however, it is a powerful detoxifier for the body.

Pectin is found to some degree in almost all fruits and vegetables, however the amount of pectin is commonly around 1%. Most of the pectin is often found in the skin of fruits. For example, an orange peel may contain up to 30% pectin. Most commercially produced pectin is made from skins leftover from making orange juice and apple juice.

OK – now for the cool part…

Apple Pectin Reduces Cesium 137 load by over 62% in one month:

Following the Chernobyl accident, a great deal of research went into how to efficiently remove radionuclides from the body. Since then, decades of research from around the world has shown that pectin is extremely effective at removing radioactive cesium from the body.

A randomised, double blind placebo-controlled trial was conducted with 64 children originating from the same group of contaminated villages in the Ukraine. The average reduction of the 137Cs levels in children receiving oral pectin powder was 62.6%, the reduction with the placebo was 13.9%. No child in the placebo group reached values below 20 Bq/kg BW (which is potentially associated with specific pathological tissue damage), with an average value of 25.8 +/- 0.8 Bq/kg. The highest value in the apple-pectin group was 15.4 Bq/kg, the average value being 11.3 +/- 0.6 Bq/kg BW.

In another study following the Chernobyl accident, two groups of children, one with very high and another with less high levels of cesium 137 were given supplementary apple pectin. Apple pectin significantly decreased 137Cs loads in these groups (39% and 28%, respectively). http://www.greenmedinfo.com/article/…osed-radioisot

Pectin has also been used as a chelator for other heavy metals, including mercury, arsenic, lead and cadmium. It is important to consider that toxins in the body have a negative synergy. A non-life threatening dose of mercury along with a non-life threatening dose of lead becomes life threatening. Thus, it is vital to cleanse the system of heavy metals along with radionuclides.

As mentioned in the post on that topic, probiotics are essential to a radioprotective diet. In turn, prebiotics are essential to probiotics, they are food for the beneficial bacteria. In order to take advantage of this prebiotic function, probiotic supplements often include some kind of prebiotic fiber, commonly pectin or inulin.

In addition to feeding the beneficial bacteria, pectin, like other forms of dietary fiber, will help keep your colon moving, and therefore eliminating toxins. Pectin is an effective treatment for both constipation and diarrhea, which is a rather remarkable balancing act. The fact that diarrhea is one of the common symptoms of low-level radiation sickness, this makes pectin even more relevant as a radioprotective nutrient.

Pectin improves HDL/LDL ratio:

General Mills and other cereal makers have drilled the mantra that oat fiber helps improve heart health, specifically cholesterol levels. Oat fiber is a soluble fiber, the same as pectin. As expected, research has clearly shown that pectin will improve HDL/LDL levels, therefore improving cardiovascular health.

A beautiful orange with the outer peel removed…the whole thing goes in the blender

Whole Food Sources of Pectin:

The obvious thing is to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and whenever the skin is edible, make sure you eat it. The skin of fruits and vegetables are high, not only in pectin, but also in a wide range of antioxidants and other life-affirming phytonutrients. Isn’t it a miracle that simple food is medicine?

However, if you want a for a deeper cleansing of the system, you are going to have to ingest more pectin. If you have been exposed to radioactive cesium (Hint: Everybody has been, to some degree), you may wish to focus on the easiest whole food source of pectin: the white part of the citrus peel, referred to as the pith.

Since I was a kid, my dad always told me to eat the white part, because that’s where the nutrition was. It’s humbling to know that decades later I’m still finding out just how right my parents were. 😉

The pith of the citrus contains about 30% pectin. It also contains high concentrations of a wide range of beneficial phytonutrients including over 60 flavones. A video towards the bottom of this post goes into some detail about the many nutrients in an orange. Here are a few highlights:

Rutin: antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, assists the body with the assimilation of vitamin C, conveniently found in…drumroll…oranges.

For close to 2 years, we have been making fruit/vegetable smoothies in a 3hp blender. If we do citrus (lemon, lime, orange or grapefruit, we cut away the outer colored peel with a knife, leaving most of the white inner peel, and toss the whole thing in the blender. A small juicing orange might have 10 grams of white pith, while a large navel orange might have over 30 grams of pith. Grapefruits are even higher. The king is the giant pomelo fruit. Regardless, back to oranges, if the pith is 30% pectin we are talking about 3-10 grams of pectin from a single orange. 5 grams of pectin is considered a therapeutic dose according to studies done at Chernobyl, though much higher doses are safe.

Even if you don’t do smoothies, you can always just peel an orange and scrape the inner peel off with your teeth and eat it! You’ll be getting pectin and a whole lot more.

Pectin as a Supplement:

It isn’t always practical to take your blender everywhere and you can’t always find the citrus you might like. Fortunately, pectin can be found in a concentrated powdered form. A teaspoon of pectin can be mixed into a glass of water every morning. I sometimes mix a teaspoon of pectin with a teaspoon of chlorella and some water first thing in the morning. BELRAD institute recommends taking pectin supplements for no more than a month in a row.

Below is an excerpt from a post on NaturalNews.com on using powdered pectin as a chelator. They recommend using the grocery store version of pectin for canning. That’s fine, though be careful to read the label as some of those contain unhealthy preservatives. You can probably find a higher quality product at a health food store, possibly even at a cheaper price. Regardless, the post is worth reading:

What is Fruit Pectin and Where is it Found?

Pectin is a substance found naturally in many fruits whose properties make it excellent for use for making jellies. Pectin also has the ability to pull heavy metals and other contaminants from the blood stream through a process called chelation. These contaminants are excreted through normal urination.

Pectin is found in the rinds of many fruits and vegetables. Excellent sources of pectin are bananas, apples, cabbage, okra, beets, grapes, carrots and all citrus fruit in the white part called the pith.

Gently Detox from Contaminants and Heavy Metals

Eat several servings of high-pectin fruit daily for a natural, gentle detox. One of the best sources of pectin is green apples. Organic apple juice and unsweetened applesauce are also good sources of natural fruit pectin.

Using Pectin to Chelate Heavy Metals and for Deep Drug Detox
For a deeper and more controlled detox, find pectin at the grocery store in the canning section. Pectin made especially for chelating heavy metals and drugs is available at health food stores in powdered form. Check labels to make sure the pectin is free of MSG.

To use pectin, mix 2-4 teaspoons of dry pectin to an 8 oz. glass of grape juice once a day. Start with a lower dose of pectin until the body gets used to it and increase the amount slowly.

Continue taking pectin for a period from 2 weeks to 6 months to complete a drug detox or when chelating heavy metals. Indicators for completing the detox period are a reduction in symptoms. Although there is no such thing as a symptom-free detoxification during chelation therapy, if pectin is taken in small quantities over a period of time, overall health will return as energy increases and disease symptoms disappear.

Supervision for Heavy Metals Chelation and Drug Detox

People addicted to narcotics of any form should use pectin only under supervision during drug detox.

Pectin can cause problems in people who are sensitive. Some people may experience a flare up of their symptoms during the detox period including dizziness, nausea, joint or muscle pain, weakness and fatigue. Reducing the amount of the dose is usually enough to lessen symptoms making the detox experience more comfortable. Seek medical supervision to help with dosing.

I am updating this post with some new content, which relates to the widespread epidemic of undiagnosed thyroid problems and the relationship with iodine. This information is highly relevant beyond the scope of nuclear accidents…make sure not to miss the podcast links below the videos as they are very informative about the link between hypothyroidism, fibromyalgia, cholesterol problems and much more.

For now, suffice to say the time for megadoses of iodine is over. Over 99% of the iodine released in the first few days of the Fukushima nuclear accident has decayed into harmless iodine, though the plants are still smoking, and surely will continue to release some iodine. Iodine continues to crop up in sewer sludge around Japan, though it is difficult to identify the source.

Iodine has many benefits besides being radioprotective, including being a powerful antibiotic and helping detoxify potentially deadly halides such as fluorine and bromine that are common in our food and water supplies. Bromine is a common additive in flour, and has pronounced negative effects on the thyroid. Only unbromated flour should be eaten.

OK – on to the experts:

More from Dr. Brownstein:

Here is a podcast with Dr. Mark Starr, who has cured himself of hypothyroidism and fibromyalgia. He has authored a book after 6 years of research into what he is calling Type 2 Hypothyroidism. Much like Type 2 Diabetes, Type 2 Hypothyroidism isn’t an inability of the gland to produce sufficient hormones, but rather an a inability of cells to make use of those hormones. Fascinating and insightful:

The human body is a fertile ecosystem for all sorts of bacteria – some considered friendly and others potentially deadly. Your body has an estimate 100 trillion cells, but the bacteria in your body outnumber that by at least 10 times! Bacteria are quite small, but nevertheless the total weight of the bacteria in your body adds up to somewhere between 2 and 9 pounds, depending on which expert you ask. Obviously, with this many guests living in your body, you want them to be the friendly type of guests, the ones that pitch in, help with the work of digestion, synthesize vital nutrients, clean up after themselves and don’t dump toxins all over the place.

Probiotics, simply, are foods or supplements that are loaded with beneficial bacteria, helping to establish a healthy population of the good kind of house guests. Probiotics should be considered vital to a healthy diet as well as frontline defenses against radioactive exposure. Some of the general health effects of probiotic consumption include:

Radiation destroys the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, causing inflammation. The result is often diarrhea, a common symptom of radiation sickness as well as a side effect of radiation therapy undergone in the treatment of cancer. If diarrhea persists, it may result in serious dehydration and fatigue. Doctors have clearly demonstrated that probiotic supplements can prevent or decrease the occurrence of diarrhea during the course of radiation therapy. Naturally, probiotics may prevent or decrease diarrhea due to radiation sickness as well.

Irradiation of the intestines may result in weakened digestion and absorption of nutrients. Beneficial intestinal flora assist with both of these functions. As well, lactobacillus even synthesize some nutrients from their component parts. For example, sulfurophane is a potent anti-cancer nutrient found in high concentrations in broccoli sprouts and lower concentrations in mature cruciferous vegetables. Lactobacillus have been shown to synthesize sulfurophane from the mature cruciferous vegetables, meaning that we are not limited to only sprouts or supplements to provide this powerful anti-mutagenic substance.

Miso

One of the most often mentioned radioprotective foods is miso. Miso developed its reputation as a radioprotective food thanks to Dr. Shinichiro Akizuki, director of Saint Francis Hospital in Nagasaki during the second World War. Despite spending years treating patients a few miles from ground zero, neither he nor his staff suffered from the usual effects of radiation illness. In addition, his patients had a remarkable rate of recovery compared with similar hospitals. Dr. Akizuki insisted that all of his staff and patients eat miso soup daily and he attributed their resilience to the miso.

In addition to live bacterial cultures, miso contains sea salt, which contains trace elements such as iodine and selenium that have radioprotective benefits. Miso soup is typically made with seaweeds, such as kombu (kelp) and wakame, which also have strong radioprotective qualities.

Sauerkraut is familiar to many westerners, however most of us are familiar with pasteurized, non-living forms of sauerkraut, which are little more than cabbage soaked in vinegar. These are not pro-biotics at all. You probably have to go to a health food store to find real sauerkraut. In the United States, there is a brand called Bubbies that is pretty good. Even in a health food store, you will find sauerkraut that has been pasteurized, and is, therefore dead. Unless it says something about live bacterial cultures on the label, it is almost surely not a live food.

In addition to vitamins A and D and sulphur compounds found in any cabbage, sauerkraut contains chemicals called isothiocyanates, which have cancer-preventing properties. Sauerkraut juice is an effective preventative and treatment for food poisoning. Mike Adams writes more about sauerkraut here.

Kimchi

I must admit I am a bit of a kimchi addict. I get excited whenever I go to Los Angeles to visit my family, because there are so many korean restaurants. I can eat kimchi everyday! Apparently there have been other kimchi fanatics like me through the ages as the first written records of kimchi are over 3,000 years old and people are still raving about it. Health magazine listed kimchi as one of the world’s healthiest foods.

People with seafood allergies need to be careful about kimchee, as some versions contain fermented anchovies or other seafood ingredients. There are vegan versions of kimchee available, and this is what we eat at home due to my wife’s allergy.

Non-Dairy Yogurt and Kefir

Until recently, I would be recommending whole-milk live yogurts and kefir. Unfortunately, at least for the time being, the risk of contaminated milk is too high, even in the United States. I fear that milk produced in the Kanto and Tohoku areas of Japan will not be safe for many decades.

Fortunately, there are wonderfully healthy and delicious non-dair alternatives to yogurt made from coconuts or other raw nuts. There are plenty of youtube videos demonstrating how to make these. Many non-dairy probiotics are now available in health food stores as well.

There are lots of other fermented, live foods. This is just a quick post I hope to update and expand later.

All the best,

Jonathan

UPDATE 5/12/2012:

I wanted to add this quote from Dr. Mercola that confirms my general bias against high-priced supplements bought in supermarkets. It’s not that I won’t pay for high-quality supplements, but in many cases there is a much cheaper (and more effective) alternative available fresh from the garden or farmers’ market.

Fermented foods not only give you a wider variety of beneficial bacteria, they also give you far more of them, so it’s a much more cost effective alternative. Here’s a case in point: It’s unusual to find a probiotic supplement containing more than 10 billion colony-forming units. But when my team actually tested fermented vegetables produced by probiotic starter cultures, they had 10 trillion colony-forming units of bacteria. Literally, one serving of vegetables was equal to an entire bottle of a high potency probiotic! So clearly, you’re far better off using fermented foods.

Along with this video which explains the basics of fermenting organic vegetables:

Fermented foods not only give you a wider variety of beneficial bacteria, they also give you far more of them, so it’s a much more cost effective alternative. Here’s a case in point: It’s unusual to find a probiotic supplement containing more than 10 billion colony-forming units. But when my team actually tested fermented vegetables produced by probiotic starter cultures, they had 10 trillioncolony-forming units of bacteria. Literally, one serving of vegetables was equal to an entire bottle of a high potency probiotic! So clearly, you’re far better off using fermented foods.miso